Charlie Conerly
Encyclopedia
Charles Albert Conerly, Jr. (September 19, 1921 – February 13, 1996) was an American football
quarterback
in the National Football League
for the New York Giants
from 1948
through 1961
. Conerly was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1966.
at the University of Mississippi
. He originally started at Mississippi in 1942, but left to serve as a Marine
in the South Pacific
during World War II
where he fought in the Battle of Guam
. He returned to Mississippi in 1946 and led the team to their first Southeastern Conference
championship in 1947. During that season, he led the nation in pass completions with 133, rushed for nine touchdowns and passed for 18 more, was a consensus All-America
selection, and was named Player of the Year by the Helms Athletic Foundation
.
Conerly lettered at Ole Miss in 1942 and 1946-47. He was considered one of the greatest players in Ole Miss football history. He played the tailback position for the Rebels, but handled all of the passing chores. He earned consensus All-America in 1947 when he led the Rebels to a record of 9-2 including a 13-9 win over TCU in the Delta Bowl in Crump Stadium in Memphis, TN. Conerly's 1947 squad had upset wins over Kentucky (14-7 in Oxford), Florida (14-6 in Jacksonville, FL), LSU (20-18 in Baton Rouge), and Tennessee (43-13 in Memphis). He placed fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and was a two-time All SEC performer. He was named Player of the Year and Back of the Year of the SEC in 1947.
He set numerous school records and still ranked 12th in 2008 in career total offense with 3,076 yards. He was ranked 12th in career passing with 2,313 yards and 26 TDs.
Conerly also played baseball at Mississippi, where he hit .467 in 1948 and was offered a professional contract.
He was inducted into the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1966. Conerly is also a member of the Ole Miss Team of the Century (1893–1992).
in the eleventh round of the 1945 NFL Draft
by the Washington Redskins
. He played his entire career with the New York Giants
as a quarterback
, where he was a two-time Pro Bowl
selection in 1950 and 1956 and was NFL's
Most Valuable Player
in 1959 by the Newspaper Enterprise Association .
Conerly was named NFL "Rookie of the Year" in 1948.
He led the Giants to three NFL Championship games in four seasons (1956,1958–59), including a 47-7 victory over the Chicago Bears
in the 1956 NFL Championship.
He also portrayed the "Marlboro Man
" in commercials after playing for the Giants.
, where he spent his final days. Conerly owned shoe stores throughout the Mississippi Delta
.
Conerly is the namesake of the football award, the Conerly Trophy
, given annually to the top college player in the State of Mississippi
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 1948
1948 NFL season
The 1948 NFL season was the 29th regular season of the National Football League. During the season, Halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Los Angeles Rams' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football. The season ended when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Chicago...
through 1961
1961 NFL season
The 1961 NFL season was the 42nd regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 14 teams with the addition of the Minnesota Vikings, after the team's owners declined to be charter members of the new American Football League. The schedule was also expanded from 12 games per...
. Conerly was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1966.
College career
Conerly attended and played college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
. He originally started at Mississippi in 1942, but left to serve as a Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
in the South Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
where he fought in the Battle of Guam
Battle of Guam
The Second Battle of Guam was the American capture of the Japanese held island of Guam, a United States territory during the Pacific campaign of World War II.-Background:...
. He returned to Mississippi in 1946 and led the team to their first Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
championship in 1947. During that season, he led the nation in pass completions with 133, rushed for nine touchdowns and passed for 18 more, was a consensus All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
selection, and was named Player of the Year by the Helms Athletic Foundation
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation was an athletic foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms. It put together a panel of experts to select National Champion teams and make All-America team selections in a number of college sports including football and basketball...
.
Conerly lettered at Ole Miss in 1942 and 1946-47. He was considered one of the greatest players in Ole Miss football history. He played the tailback position for the Rebels, but handled all of the passing chores. He earned consensus All-America in 1947 when he led the Rebels to a record of 9-2 including a 13-9 win over TCU in the Delta Bowl in Crump Stadium in Memphis, TN. Conerly's 1947 squad had upset wins over Kentucky (14-7 in Oxford), Florida (14-6 in Jacksonville, FL), LSU (20-18 in Baton Rouge), and Tennessee (43-13 in Memphis). He placed fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and was a two-time All SEC performer. He was named Player of the Year and Back of the Year of the SEC in 1947.
He set numerous school records and still ranked 12th in 2008 in career total offense with 3,076 yards. He was ranked 12th in career passing with 2,313 yards and 26 TDs.
Conerly also played baseball at Mississippi, where he hit .467 in 1948 and was offered a professional contract.
He was inducted into the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1966. Conerly is also a member of the Ole Miss Team of the Century (1893–1992).
Professional career
Conerly was draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the eleventh round of the 1945 NFL Draft
1945 NFL Draft
The 1945 National Football League Draft was held on April 8, 1945. It was the last draft held in Chicago; later in the year the league moved its offices to Philadelphia.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:...
by the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. He played his entire career with the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
as a quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
, where he was a two-time Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
selection in 1950 and 1956 and was NFL's
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
in 1959 by the Newspaper Enterprise Association .
Conerly was named NFL "Rookie of the Year" in 1948.
He led the Giants to three NFL Championship games in four seasons (1956,1958–59), including a 47-7 victory over the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the 1956 NFL Championship.
He also portrayed the "Marlboro Man
Marlboro Man
The Marlboro Man is a figure used in tobacco advertising campaign for Marlboro cigarettes. In the United States, where the campaign originated, it was used from 1954 to 1999. The Marlboro Man was first conceived by Leo Burnett in 1954. The image involves a rugged cowboy or cowboys, in nature with...
" in commercials after playing for the Giants.
After football
Conerly and his wife Perian (author of the book, Backseat Quarterback) retired to his hometown of Clarksdale, MississippiClarksdale, Mississippi
Clarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 20,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Coahoma County....
, where he spent his final days. Conerly owned shoe stores throughout the Mississippi Delta
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
.
Conerly is the namesake of the football award, the Conerly Trophy
Conerly Trophy
The Conerly Trophy or Cellular South Conerly Trophy is an award given annually to the best college football player in the state of Mississippi by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.-Voting:...
, given annually to the top college player in the State of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
.
See also
- History of the New York Giants (1925-1978)
- Ole Miss RebelsOle Miss RebelsUniversity of Mississippi sports teams, originally known as the "Mississippi Flood" , were re-named the Rebels in 1936 and compete in the twelve-member Southeastern Conference of the NCAA's Division I. The school's colors are cardinal red and navy blue , purposely chosen to mirror the school...